The smoke in the distance was making me wary, as usual, but this time I was determined to not let it ruin my day. It was a truly glorious day – the sun was shining beautifully, and there was not a single cloud tarnishing the sky – and I wasn't going to worry about some silly smoke.

It probably isn't anything to worry about anyway – at least, it shouldn't be, not here, in this Kingdom famous for its care-free nature. But somehow… ever since rumours of an uprising in a Kingdom far from ours, named Enya, I've felt a bit unsettled. They're the Kingdom of Fire, so naturally they're very hot-headed and argumentative, but it seems to have gone too out-of-hand this time. I guess I shouldn't lose too much sleep over it-

"Ouch!" I cry out, instantly turning to glare accusingly at Ash with my wide blue eyes. I rub the side of my head gingerly, wincing where I feel an already-forming bump from where the football must have hit me. Jerk. "What was that for?"

He grins widely, showing off the smile that he is famous for here in Uri – the name of our Kingdom, in case you didn't know. We're officially known as the Kingdom of Light, due to our specialty in Light magic. Girls seem to go crazy for his stupid smirk, but I think they're ridiculous; I've known Ash since we were toddlers and he's never made me swoon. "You were spacing out again. I mean, I know you do it a lot, but it's starting to get a little bit annoying."

I roll my eyes dramatically. "Look, Ash. You're a great friend and all…" I place a hand on my hip to show how exasperated I was at him. He looks at me cautiously, awaiting the rest of my sentence. "But if you ever hit me with a football again, I will not be afraid to shove a great ball of Light up your a-"

"Ash! Dawn! What are you doing out here?" I hear the panicked gasp of Ash's mother from behind me, and I raise an eyebrow at Ash before turning around to face her.

"We were playing football for a bit." I say. "Why, what happened?"

She furrows her eyebrows, and her whole face creases with it. I can see the wrinkles on her face, and the crow's feet by her eyes – just a few of the repercussions of raising a child as irritating as Ash, I suppose. "You two should know that it's not safe out here on your own anymore. The Fire Kingdom could come by any day now."

"But we're not out here on our own." I protest, looking to Ash for confirmation. He nods his head.

"Yeah, mum. I can protect the both of us just fine!" He boasts, and I sigh.

"Well, while that may not be entirely true, we are capable of defending ourselves just fine, Mrs. Ketchum." I feel bad for her. It must be tiresome, having to constantly think about not only yourself but also your reckless son. It can't help that he always seems to be getting into trouble.

Her face still looks as nervous and apprehensive as before, but she accepts our promises to be safe and proceeds to walk back down the rickety cobblestone pathway, stumbling for a second on a particularly denticulate rock before carrying on, albeit a little slower than before. When she's away from hearing distance, which takes about five minutes, Ash turns me with a concerned look on his face.

"What?" I ask, nervous due to this unfamiliar expression. He's only ever looked this nervous once before, and it was just before he told me that he'd wrecked my favourite doll house by blasting it with magic 'accidently'.

"It's just… you know my mum. She doesn't fuss about much, except for when I'm in trouble, or if she knows something bad is about to happen. I haven't done anything bad, so something must be up." I consider his words before nodding in agreement.

"Maybe we should head back, just to be safe." I suggest. I peer at Ash to see if he thinks the same as me, but his eyes are locked on something just behind me. It appears as if he's frozen in place, but… why? "Ash?"

He shakes his head almost unperceivably, and I take that as a cue to be quiet. Slowly, he walks closer to me, footsteps echoing ominously in the sudden silence. His breath fans over my ear as he whispers, "Fire."

My breath hitches. Fire? In Uri? "W-What…" I trail off weakly. I can't believe it. I can hear my heart thudding in my chest abruptly, a tell-tale sign of my already-forming panic. All the signs were there, and yet I refused to believe it. Be that as it may, I know that I have to get to safety as soon as I can. That much I know.

"Dawn." I nod furiously at the sound of my name; waiting to see what orders will be murmured to me. I'm scared for my life at the prospect of what will happen, and I'm scared for Ash's life and my mum's life too. "Go to your house and find your mum – take her to safety. Find everyone you know and tell them to go to the harbour straight away." I nod my head again. Nodding seems to be the only thing I can do right now, I'm so paralysed with fear. "And Dawn?" His voice turns softer. "You're like a sister to me, so don't…" He inhales deeply, his eyes gentle. "Don't get hurt, okay?"

"Okay." I repeat, and wish my legs to work. "You too, Ash." Finally my legs decide to unfreeze themselves, and I run as fast as I can; down the rocky pathway, and through the unstable wooden doors that lead into the town of Uri. Focus, Dawn. Find your mum, and then go to the harbour. I can almost hear Ash telling me these words. I close my eyes briefly and picture my mother's smiling face. "It's going to be okay." I say softly out loud.

All of a sudden, just as I open my eyes, I feel, more than see, a crash of burning Light obscure my vision – no, that's not quite right… It can't be Light, because it wouldn't burn me like this…

Fire!

How have they already wreaked so much havoc on my poor, poor town? Houses are burning with malicious embers; infernos race past my view and consume all of our crops in one big, hearty bite; my town is a giant science experiment, combustion in every place possible. Hues of red and orange surround me, and my mouth opens to scream but nothing comes out. I'm choking on the putrid gas of this deadly magic, and I spin around wildly to try and find my sense of direction.

I'm near my house. I see the familiar flowers – or at least, where they once stood – that used to line the way to my house. I'm sure of it. I've got to find my mum, and I've got to make sure that she's safe. We have to get to the harbour, and then we can go to Aukai. Fire has no power over Water… right? They'll keep us safe from this… from this…

Fire…

All around me…

Can't breathe…

Fading… to black…

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Red. There's red. I think it's supposed to mean danger, but I'm not sure. I can't think straight. My head hurts. There's a high-pitched screeching sound, piercing my ears. It sounds like a screaming child. My brain won't function, and I don't know where I am.

It hits me like a cannonball.

Mum.

I've got to find mum. I don't know why…

My arms burns, like a sharp knife is being stabbed into it – when I look down, I see that my left arm is bruised and grazed, with wounds that I cannot recall getting. Where did they come from?

"M-Mum?" I say slowly, stupidly; my tongue is like lead: heavy. "Mum?" I repeat in a louder voice. "Are you-"

"Will you shut up?" Unexpectedly, I hear an irritated voice snap, "Your mum isn't here, don't you get it?"

My lip trembles. I can feel my eyes watering. "Who are you?" I ask them, my vision still blurry from just waking up. I can barely see a thing except that fiery red colour; everything else is unidentifiable. "What happened here?"

"Stop asking questions, troublesome." The voice – which I can safely say is either a man or a very butch lady's voice – growls sternly, without any compassion etched into it at all. "Just sit quietly until I say otherwise."

I sit there for a few moments, pondering on what I should do. If I speak again, who knows what this stranger will do? But if I say nothing, then I'll never know what's going on…

I'm terrified. I can't remember anything at all: why did I wake up in this unfamiliar room, and why can't I remember anything from before? It's as if all my memories have been wiped from my brain. A tear slips down my face at the thought, and when I touch it I realise that it's not the first. Unbeknownst to me, my face has turned into a small waterfall; I've been quietly crying while asking questions that make my head want to explode.

"Please." I whisper. "Just tell me who you are, at least."

I hear an impatient sigh. "If I have to, troublesome." I hear a chair scuffle along the floor, a sound that has always made me cringe.

"Dawn." I correct him.

"Whatever." I can feel him roll his eyes. "Paul." So that's his name, huh? Definitely a man.

"Nice to meet you." Typical me. Even though this man could be dangerous, I'm still friendly to him. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, actually.

"I can't say the same back." How rude! And after I decided to be nice to him, as well. Oh well, it's his loss.

I try to stand up, my hands grasping an object stationed in front of me, but despite the fact that it's immobile, my legs still wobble and I end up falling back onto the floor. I refuse to give up, though! This time, I firmly place my hands onto the vaguely-decipherable item in front of me, and steady myself as my legs almost give out.

It was not a good idea: my head spins with darkness as all my already non-existent energy is taken out of me by this simple task. I feel as if I'm about to fall again, when I'm caught by someone – presumably Paul.

His arms are muscular through his soft shirt, and I realise that he could throw me into the ocean right now without much effort, leaving me to drown. I hope not, because I definitely do not have the strength to stand, let alone swim.

"What an idiot." I hear him grunt, as he steadily lays me back onto the floor.

My vision hazes back to black, but I manage to utter one last word before my mind drifts back to nothingness. "Thanks."

My concentration fuzzes into static-grey. I hear him say something. "Trust me to find this idiot, when I'm about to leave my Kingdom. Just my luck." His words are incomprehensible, though, so I just let sleep invade and let the word slip out from under my fingertips.

When I wake up… maybe I'll remember.